"I don't know..."
Turles's expression darkened.
Back on Planet Karen, Tights had said they had already contacted the Galactic Patrol. Now, without even thinking, she was saying she had no way to contact them.
"That's not what you said on Planet Karen."
"You told those government officials you had already notified the Galactic Patrol."
Seeing Turles's face, Tights realized her mistake.
Now that she was in the thieves' den, she still had to watch the boss's mood.
She waved her hands repeatedly, her body shrinking back uncontrollably.
"No, that's not it! That's not what I meant!"
"I really don't know!"
She hurried to explain.
"I really don't have a way to contact the Galactic Patrol. My friend and I have been out of touch for over half a year."
"All I did on Karen was show them a crisis warning as an outside affiliate of the Galactic Patrol. My status is an 'honorary member' of the Galactic Patrol, just an outside affiliate! The government of Planet Karen only believed me after they saw that proof!"
"The ones who actually contacted the Galactic Patrol were the Planet Karen government themselves! And they only sent the message from Planet Karen at the moment you destroyed their building's defense system."
"Every civilization that has achieved interstellar development has a channel to send official requests for help to the Galactic Patrol Organization!"
"It's a public, legal channel! It's not some secret personal way to contact them!"
Turles continued to regard her with a skeptical gaze.
"Even outside affiliates don't have the right to contact headquarters?"
Tights nodded.
"It's just a symbolic honorary title. I got it because I wrote a promotional novel for the Galactic Patrol Organization."
Turles fell silent.
Of course, he didn't need to contact the Galactic Patrol's headquarters.
All he needed was Tights's personal way of contacting Jaco.
When operating in the world, another way out meant another layer of insurance.
"Then do you have any other way to contact him?"
"You... why would you take the initiative to contact the Galactic Patrol? Shouldn't you..." Tights trailed off.
"Shouldn't I what?"
"Shouldn't I be hiding from them?" Turles asked with a smile and a shake of his head.
"I don't want anything to do with the Galactic Patrol, but don't misunderstand me. I'm no criminal."
Tights fell silent.
After all that, he still wasn't a criminal?
It seemed she still knew very little about the laws of the universe...
"So... you want to ask my friend for Earth's coordinates?" Tights ventured, holding on to a sliver of hope.
But to her dismay and concern, Turles didn't deny it.
"For now, that's the only method I have."
"So until I get Earth's coordinates, Miss Tights, you'd best not try to leave the friendly Turles, all right?"
"..."
"Are you going to invade Earth?"
"My friend told me Earth is just a remote, backward planet. It doesn't have any resources at all."
Thinking of the Saiyans' reputation in the universe, Tights could no longer hide her panic.
She racked her brains for ways to disparage Earth, hoping Turles would lose interest in it.
Turles gave her an indifferent glance.
"Who told you I was going to invade Earth?"
But clearly, those words sounded utterly feeble to Tights.
Turles continued trying to explain.
He thought for a moment, and a beautiful, heartwarming lie immediately took shape in his mind.
Tights had a sense of familiarity.
It seemed it had been like this when they first met, too...
"You should know that we Saiyans are nearly extinct. And on that planet you live on, the one called Earth, my younger brother is there. He's not just my brother, but also one of the few of our people I have left. So I only want to find my brother..."
"You're lying again, aren't you..."
Although Turles thought he had set the emotional tone perfectly, he still failed to earn the slightest sympathy from Tights.
"But... what you said does seem to have some truth to it..."
"I remember, there really is someone on Earth..."
At that thought, Tights became a little unsure again.
Of course, as far as Tights was concerned, it was possible that Turles's younger brother really was on Earth. But as for someone not invading Earth, Tights didn't believe a word of it.
Turles turned away. "Believe it or not, until you agree to help me get Earth's coordinates, you won't have access to anything except food and clothing."
With that, Turles was the first to leave, walking out of his own room.
He left Tights behind, still in a daze.
The cabin door closed behind him.
Tights's figure disappeared around the corner of the metal corridor.
Turles withdrew his gaze, turned, and headed for the control room.
"Lord Turles, the Heeters Group has sent their location. Are we going over now?"
Amond came up to him.
"Set course."
Amond grinned, nodded vigorously, and turned to leave.
The Turles's engines rumbled deeply as the ship changed course and sped toward the coordinates sent by the Heeters Group.
The ship passed through an asteroid belt, leaving a straight trail against the blackness of space.
The wind in the canyon never ceased.
On the barren planet's surface, rock layers weathered for who knew how many years showed a deathly gray in the dim light.
The Turles's engines switched from cruise mode to landing mode, and the enormous ship cast a shadow over the high ground on the canyon's eastern side.
The impact of the ship touching down came through the soles of their feet, slight and dull.
The hatch opened.
Turles led Amond, Daiz, and Cacao out through the hatch. His tail swayed slightly behind him before wrapping tightly around his waist again.
The wind lifted the ends of his short black hair, and the hem of his clothes snapped in the gusts.
His gaze was calm as he swept his eyes over the barren canyon below.
The four members of the Heeters Family had long been waiting there, their figures somewhat blurred by the windblown sand.
Elec's face was wreathed in smiles. The moment he saw Turles appear, he promptly came forward to greet him.
"Mr. Turles."
"Thank you for your hard work. This mission was completed perfectly, as expected of you, Mr. Turles!"
Standing behind Turles, Amond unconsciously puffed out his broad chest at the flattery.
Afterward, Turles showed no reaction to Elec's string of lavish compliments.
He simply said, "At the very last moment, the government of Planet Karen sent an official request for help to the Galactic Patrol Organization."
The smile on Elec's face froze for an instant, but quickly relaxed again.
He waved a hand dismissively.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Turles. This was already within our expectations."
Elec stepped aside, revealing Maki behind him.
Maki pulled a data terminal from her pocket and tapped it a few times.
"We at the Heeters Group will handle the remaining cleanup properly. You needn't concern yourself with the Galactic Patrol, and it will never implicate either the Frieza Force or you."